James Henry Coffin, American meteorologist

Caption: J.H. Coffin. Portrait of James Henry Coffin (1806- 73), American meteorologist. Coffin was a pioneer of wind theory. One of his results is known as 'Buys Ballots Law'; based on the work of the Dutchman C.H.D. Buys Ballot. This law relates the wind direction to areas of high and low pressure. During the nineteenth century advances in the fields of thermodynamics and hydrodynamics allowed meteorology to be founded on a firm scientific basis.